Woman given 3 days to live at birth earns college degree 25 years later

NEW YORK — A New York woman was given three days to live when she was born.

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That was 25 years ago. Wednesday night, Nekhidia Harris walked across the stage at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn to receive her diploma from  Medgar Evers College, where she graduated with honors, WABC reported.

"I was like, 'Oh, my gosh, this is really, really, happening," Harris told the television station after receiving her bachelor's degree in social work. "Oh, my gosh, I thank God every day."

Harris was born with a disease that causes her bones to remain brittle. She has had dozens of fractures and several surgeries, WABC reported. Harris is under 3 feet tall, but her spirit has her standing tall.

"She lights up a room," Harris' mother, Dasline Harris, told the television station. "No matter what darkness is in the room, she lights up that room."

"No one has shunned her," Nekhidia Harris' father, Michael Harris, told WABC."Nobody treats her differently, because they see her as tall as they are."

Nekhidia Harris said she followed her father's advice to overcome adversity.

"Use my brain as my height, and I've stuck with that," she told WABC.

Nekhidia Harris plans to continue her education. She is enrolling in a master's program at York College, the television station reported.

Cox Media Group